Nothing Personal
by TwilaStryker
Summary: Elias wasn't a bad person, he just made a horrible king. One-shot, Archieverse #178.


The only thing bad about his prison cell was that it was boring.

But it kept people out and gave Amadeus Prower some peace and quiet--a chance to think, as he had been for the hours he'd been stuck in here.

Only five other people inhabited the prison cells around him--Bark the Polarbear, Ixis Naugus, Mammoth Mogul, Fang the Sniper, and Bean the Dynamite--and the latter three were the only ones who insisted on talking. Even then Amadeus was able to block out their voices and think about the next stage to the up-and-coming rebellion. And had some time to think about the protest.

Which had _not_ beena riot, of all things.

Everything was planned, everything thought out carefully beforehand. He knew what he was doing. The House of Acorn couldn't tell the difference between a riot and a protest, as long as it was against them, anyway. One proposition of change, and here sat the general, here in this idiotic 'Detention Center'. Overreacting? Definitely.

The normal chatter in the Detention Center suddenly increased tenfold--from its normal conversations to taunting and jeers--and Amadeus straightened his spine, folding his hands together. The prisoners made a good enough signal as any to warn him of any visitors. And if Amadeus had guessed right, he had another chance to get the king to back down.

Elias Acorn came into view, confirming Amadeus's guess. The scattered remarks of other prisoners continued as Amadeus nodded his head in Elias's direction. "Your highness," He greeted coldly.

"G-General Prower," Elias returned the gesture. He was obviously caught off guard by the greeting--and had let it show, a grave mistake in a situation like this.

Finally Mogul barked out an order for the prisoners to keep silent, and a welcomed quiet fell over the room.

"Erm… thank you, Mogul," Elias broke the silence, with the usual nervous stammer to his voice. There were dozens such qualities to the king--Amadeus had noticed them all since he'd returned to Mobius, and could point them out one by one. It was another reason the House of Acorn needed to back down.

Elias watched Amadeus closely, while the general stared back, the pinnacle of calm. Finally he spoke once more. "…General Prower, would you please explain why you lead the riot today?"

"It was not a riot," Amadeus explained, leaning back against the cell wall, "And it was nothing personal, I promise you. Of all the time I've watched you, Elias--observed your rule of this kingdom--I thought you of all people would listen to _your _people."

"It was not a riot," Amadeus repeated for good measure.

"You had half the city calling for me to step down!" Elias snapped, looking almost exasperated. It was something unexpected on him--understandable considering the situation, but unexpected nonetheless.

"Which you should, if you have any love for your people. We've dealt with Robotnik; now we must deal with the problems of our own city."

Elias's frustrated expression faded, but he didn't answer, letting Amadeus continue.

"The House of Acorn has led us into the Great War, brought in Dr. Robotnik, and lost both Old Mobotropolis and Knothole. The former king is in no condition to lead and, with all due respect, _sire_, you have no experience with running a nation."

There was a sting to Amadeus's words and it hit Elias full on immediately, causing the young king to bow his head. The silence in the Detention Center changed from anxious to just plain awkward.

"Aw, poor kingy. Did the big bad general strike a nerve?"

Of all people to break the silence, it was Fang, leaning against the glass of his cell with a sneer. Elias didn't look over at him, either realizing the words were true or not preferring to dignify the comment with a response.

But it could have been either, being Elias.

Amadeus took the time to speak again, keeping his eyes on Elias the whole time. "Argentum showed me the power of a government run by its people. It is nothing personal, I promise you--I only want what is best for the people, and a change in government is obviously better than a king who does not know what he is doing."

And that was true. Elias Acorn wasn't a bad person, not by a long shot. He just made a horrible _king_.

There was more of the awkward silence, and not even Fang or Bean decided to break it--too eager to see what would happen next, Amadeus guessed. But nothing would happen. It was time to end this before the king had a full mental breakdown.

"Will that be all, sir?" Amadeus finally asked.

"Y-yes, general," Elias stammered. "That answers my question."

"Then have a good day, sir."

Elias took that as his exit, turned and left. There was the brief silence and soft shutting of the door to the Detention Center, and Bean was the first to speak. "Dang! Can you teach me to do that?"

Fang rolled his eyes. "It isn't _that_ hard to get under his skin, you idiot."

Mogul looked over to Amadeus's cell. "Quite the speaker, aren't you?"

Amadeus shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "Maybe so, maybe not. My one goal is protecting the people; nothing more."

Protect the people.

And if Elias cared for the people as much as Amadeus did--and the general knew he did--then he ought to listen to the people.

Nervous, self-conscious, inexperienced.

_"A change in government is obviously better than a king who does not know what he is doing."_

**A/N: I was dying to write something with Elias, so I came up with this. Because it's Archieverse, I decided to put it on its own instead of sticking it with my other drabbles.**

**Hope you liked it! **

**-Twila**


End file.
